5 String Buckeye Burl

5 String

Buckeye Burl Top

Alder Body “Wings”

Maple Neck Through

Birdseye Maple Fretboard

EMG J/P Pickups

Hipshot Single String Bridge

Bartolini Preamp

Black Hardware

 

March 21, 2007

Here are a few of the woods for the body, neck and top:

Fretboard:

 

March 25, 2007

I will be making the body template about 1/4″ wider all around, but the 5 string neck template is made as well as the headstock template.

 

March 28, 2007

I started cutting the birdseye maple down to final thickness on the bandsaw. I made a really nice cut and I think I should be able to get at least 5 fretboards out of this board.

I also cut the rough taper of the maple neck.

Here is the bass with all the wood, minus the top:

 

April 11, 2007

I got the riser block for my band saw so that now I can cut a board that is 12″ thick!

I was able to cut the Buckeye Burl into two bookmatched pieces that are about 1/2″ thick. I will not run them through the planer for fear of them falling apart. So they will need to be sanded to about 1/4″ thick.

 

July 7, 2007

Sorry for the long break on this bass, I was building a neck for the same customer. Pictures can be seen in the news section. Today I started work on it again though. Got the neck cut out to final size and the body rough cut. Truss rod channel was also made.

 

July 8, 2007

I cut out the rough shape of the Buckeye Burl body and headstock. The back of the neck has also been shaped a little bit as well as a Alder veneer to the back of the headstock.

 

July 12, 2007

The Buckeye Burl bookmatched pair has been glued together.

I don’t know if you can tell from this picture, but I added a strip of Alder to the body where it connects to the neck. On either side of that Alder, there is a thin black veneer. The small details that make it look good.

 

July 14, 2007

I cut out the slots for the fretboard as well as the fretboard itself.

 

July 18, 2007

This will probably be the most noticeable blog post. I got the Buckeye Burl top sanded down flat and glued it to the body/neck along with a black veneer. Then I rounded over the edges. This is officially my favorite bass I’ve built!

I also put the black side dot markers on the fretboard.

 

July 19, 2007

I routed the holes for both pickups and drilled the tuner holes. The neck/body transition is being worked on as well.

I am putting some hardener into the Buckeye Burl so it won’t fall apart so easily. It looks similar to the finish it will have when it is done.

I started the electronics cavity and glued the fretboard on.

 

July 25, 2007

Everything seems to fit correctly.

I am just now to the final shaping of a few parts. Then I’ll make the control cavity cover and recess it. After that it is pretty much down to just sanding, frets, finish and electronics.

 

July 26, 2007

I put the frets in and have started to file them. The control cover has one coat of finish on. Still need to do some shaping and sanding.

I drilled the holes for the output jack and 3 knobs. Those are the best placement for them so the electronics fit in the cavity.

 

August 8, 2007

After many hours of sanding I was able to put one coat of finish on this bass. There are still a few spots that I need to sand a little more though. So in about 30 coats (because the Buckeye Burl soaks up the finish so much) it will be done.

A few more coats on in the natural light

 

August 28, 2007

There isn’t much to update you on the past few weeks sadly. The finish is still soaking into the Buckeye Burl so it is taking time to harden and build up. Once I feel it is hard enough I will route the control cavity deeper, give everything a nice final sand and then apply the finish that will not soak in so much. After that it should be a matter of just putting it together and doing the electronics and final setup. The only problem is I live an hour away from my shop now and I am getting really busy. So it might take awhile longer than expected even though it looks so close.

 

September 14, 2007

I just thought I’d put this picture up of the finish so far. I sanded off the old finish because I didn’t like how it was turning out. The new one is really nice. It is building up faster too now. It is a lot more clear, the other one was kind of cloudy.

 

September 28, 2007

The finish is done and I am just now test fitting all the parts again. Still need to drill the holes for everything, do the electronics and final adjustments.

October 17, 2007

The bass is done and is being shipped out tomorrow. The customer will be taking final pictures and hopefully making some nice sound clips as well.

Customer Testimonial

“Hey man, I got the bass yesterday and it’s amazing! REALLY! It is completely incredible. Exactly what I wanted and everything I hoped it would be. Man, you did a great job, it’s beautiful. I took it to band practice last night and it sounded great. The guys in the group loved it. They even said that maybe I should think about just playing this bass on everything, instead of doubling on the upright like I have been. Again, thanks a million for making my dream come true. This is without a doubt, the best instrument I’ve ever had. I love it!”

- Brandon Cottongim